ST. PAUL, MN – Fifty years after declaring a pre-Med major in college, Governor Mark Dayton today launched a milestone effort to enhance the national prominence of the University of Minnesota Medical School. Governor Dayton today signed Executive Order 14-13 establishing a Blue Ribbon Committee on the University of Minnesota Medical School. The Committee will advise the Governor and Legislature on strategies and state investments to ensure the state’s preeminent medical school is a national leader in medical training, research, and innovation.

“The future health of Minnesotans depends on what we do now to train the next generation of medical professionals in our state,” said Governor Dayton. “Today’s medical students will become the doctors who will care for our families, and the research professionals who will develop life-saving innovations in medical technology in the years to come.”

The University of Minnesota Medical School plays a critical role in Minnesota’s position as a leader in providing broad access to the highest-quality, low-cost health care. In order to continue Minnesota’s tradition of excellence in health care, the Governor believes the University of Minnesota must leverage the Medical School’s strengths, invest wisely, and commit to the institution’s continued improvement.

More than 70 percent of Minnesota’s physicians have taken classes or earned their medical degrees from the University of Minnesota’s Medical School. The Medical School provides training to 1,200 primary care and specialty residents, and provides continuing education courses to 10,000 physicians each year – making the School a major asset to the continued improvement of Minnesota’s health care system.

The Blue Ribbon Committee appointed today by Governor Dayton is made up of University leaders, health system and other private sector leaders, legislators, state officials, health professional associations, and patient representatives. The Governor has charged the Committee to provide a report with specific policy and budget recommendations to be considered during the 2015 Legislative Session. Those recommendations will be focused on the following goals:

1. National Prominence – Ensuring the Medical School’s national preeminence by retaining and attracting world class faculty, staff, students and residents.

2. Nation-Leading Research and Innovation – Sustaining the University’s national leadership in health research, care innovation, and health care delivery, capitalizing on the state’s investments in biomedical research and ground-breaking discoveries.

3. Excellence in Clinical Services – Expanding the University’s clinical services to strengthen its ability to serve as a statewide health care resource for providers and patients, as a training site for health professional students and residents, as a site for cutting-edge clinical research, and as a source of critical funding for the Medical School and health sciences.

Patrick Rock, MD, CEO at Indian Health Board of Minneapolis and representative from Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers

Rulon Stacey, CEO, Fairview

Elizabeth Seaquist, MD, Professor of Medicine and Researcher, University of Minnesota

Additionally, the leaders of each legislative caucus have been tasked with appointing one of their members to serve on the Committee. Speaker Paul Thissen has appointed State Representative Tom Huntley to serve on the Committee. Senator Tom Bakk has appointed Senator Leroy Stumpf. Other legislative appointments are pending the decisions of the two remaining caucus leaders.

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